by jot and tittle

Kids. Simple yet so complex. Tears and tantrums and trouble. Imagination. Belly laughs. Learning. With kids there is oh so much learning for everyone involved. They're learning things like colours, numbers, shapes, sharing, and manners. You're learning things like patience, wisdom, gentleness, and perseverance. Overwhelming. Children are overwhelming. Their two greatest love languages are time  and touch  which makes your time their time and your body no longer your own. Personal space is gone. No really, gone . Overwhelming. Every moment is a learning opportunity. So your four-year-old wants your help right now  but you can't help right now  because you're stirring the gravy on the stove: patience. There is only one book and two people want to look at it: sharing. The baby breaks the three-year-old's tractor; controlling anger and forgiveness. Not interrupting while you talk with another adult; respect. Eating all the food on your plate; finishing what...

High school is full of friends and drama and learning. Perhaps one of the best parts of high school for girls is the learning because you are expected and encouraged to use your brain. It's good to pass exams with flying colours and finish with high marks. And then you graduate. And then what? You ALL get married and become moms. So what on earth would you need to go to school for? You must think pretty highly of yourself if you want to get your BA (or even worse, Masters) in something. Why should you go to university for Biology and Chemistry (that you love and excel in) when you could go to the community collage for a year or two or better yet just work at the local diner till some chap asks you to marry him ? Why waste your time and money developing your gifts when you could just settle for a minimum wage job that keeps you going till your real life begins ? Because today is your real life. Not the maybe-might-happen-in-five-years. Today. Today is your real life. ...

Dancing.  It's one of those things. You know? Some people are super excited about it and others think it's the sin of all sins because dancing is touching and we all know what touching leads too... But I'm getting side-tracked. Dancing is used as an expression of joy in the Bible. Miriam danced when the Israelites crossed the Red Sea to safety (Exodus 15). Women danced when battles were won (Judges 11:34 and 1 Samuel 18:6) and of course David danced when the Ark of the Covenant was returned to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6:14-16). There's a song about dancing on the streets that are golden, talking about the joy we will have in heaven.  Now, dancing on golden streets sounds pretty appealing, however, most of us imagine that ballroom to be a long way off. We don't tread upon golden streets here. I walk on bread crumbs and toys and cat hair and my music is children laughing and fighting above the children's worship CD. Perhaps you...

Jesus tells us to lay up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6), and we read that passage, nod our heads and say an "amen" in our hearts, but then continue on our merry way. However, the fact of the matter is that laying up treasures in heaven doesn't merely consist of making the church kids memorize the catechism and throwing a tenth of your income in the collecting plate on Sunday (as good as those things are). Storing up treasures in heaven is a mindset, a soulset if you will, and it's one we often don't have. Because the fact of the matter is that storing up treasures in heaven almost always comes at the expense of storing up treasures on earth and let's face it: earthly treasures sure look a lot more appealing, take less time and commitment, are less awkward, and often less painful. If we were really concerned about living like Jesus taught we might consider doing like Jesus did. I know people say that and we all smile and think yea, but we can't do ever...

At the ladies' lunch-in Women gathered about and one woman's rounding belly makes the stories all come out About pain and hours and labour And diapers and juice cups and dirt And my heart begins to squeeze But my face won't show the hurt Once a heart too small to feel beat inside of me but no one even knows it Except my husband and God Almighty My stomach was getting bigger I was soon to show We were going to tell everyone But then that little heart ceased to grow And I don't know why it happened But I know that there was pain Not only for my body More like in every way Why did God let this happen? Would I have been such a bad mum? What did I do so wrong? How could I tell anyone? Now I know there is a reason But that doesn't stop the pain And even though time has passed I feel it every day To loose a child before you meet Ravishes your heart And to hear all these women's stories Again t...

Sometimes the world gets pretty depressing. There is so much badness going on in the news and in the church we are constantly reminded that persecution is coming to the western world in our life time and there's nothing we can to do about. Basically we're all doomed thanks to natural disasters, wars, school shootings, and the leftist agenda. But. What if we weren't doomed? See, you really can't complain about how bad the world is if you are doing nothing to change it. I know we don't have control over natural disasters but we do have lot more control over changing this culture of death then you might think and I would like to encourage young people in particular to not sit still. We have energy when we're young that we will never have again. Let me give you just two examples of young people who aren't sitting still. 1. This week I was extremely blessed do some volunteer work with a pro-life group. As I drove home on Friday afternoon an exceptional th...

I'm reading a book. In this book it was talking about the culturally acceptable and expected phenomena of degrading men. All too quickly our mouths spew unkind, disrespectful, rude words and jokes which people laugh at but they make God frown and hurt the hearts of the men around us. For this I am truly sorry. Chivalry, gentlemanly behavior, and male leadership are offensive in our feminist culture. For this I am also truly sorry. On behalf of other grateful women I would like to just take a moment to thank men for 25 things they do. Thank you for; 1. Taking out the trash 2. Opening the door 3. Scraping the car 4. Cleaning the driveway 5. Carrying heavy (and not so heavy) things 6. Leading Bible study 7. Praying 8. Working hard 9. Watching for the safety of others 10. Starting the car 11. Going last (for meals, through the doorway, and just about everything else) 12. Holding the umbrella 13. Answering questions 14. Helping your mom 15. Drying the dishes 16. Pla...

In my research for this article I discovered that a verse in the Bible that says "be in the world but not of it" is not to be found, but the idea itself is everywhere. Jesus prayed that His disciples would not be taken out of the world but that they would be kept from evil (John 17) and John said that if we love the world and the things of the world we do not have the love of God (1 John 2:15-17). But here is a confusing problem that faces me as I look at the modern North American Church; we are far more of  the world than in  the world. We spend our time the same ways, watch the same movies, listen to the same music, and go to the same places. We are concerned with the same things, namely money, sex, and entertainment, and spend a lot more time perusing those ends than praying, studying and memorizing the Bible, fighting injustices, changing society, caring for our neighbours, and encouraging our leaders both in the church and politically. But how did Jesus portray being...

The Farmer sits high overlooking the earth below as his body bounces up and down thanks to the plowed field beneath him. He looks down at the small, brown-haired head bouncing up and down beside him. Perched on a five gallon pail, the neighbour's son sits quietly, watching the tractor, watching the sky, and watching the woods to the left. He looks up and watches the Farmer and they share a smile but neither says a word.  Farmer thinks back to when his own sons were small and would come out to the fields, dragging their own five gallon pails behind them to provide a place to sit in the tractor with Dad. Mom had sent them out, hoping for a few moments of peace. Many little heads had bobbed up and down beside him; brown heads, blond heads, and heads sporting piggy tails. The piggy tails had since changed into pony tails and braids. Has any of it made a difference?  the Farmer wonders, thinking back on his life.  Farmer has rough hands, callused from working every day...

Christmas, New Years, and Groundhog Day are all over which means the next big holiday is Valentine's Day. Stores are manicured in pink and red with signs proclaiming "chocolates, roses, and teddy bears" (why any grown woman would want a teddy bear is beyond me but that's besides the point). In less than a week some people will be waking up to either flowers at their breakfast table, invitations out to dinner, or a rather upset significant other. And some people will be waking up to an empty, angry feeling. Both these groups will probably feel the need to share their experiences with the world at large via social media. If you feel obligated to shout out to all your Facebook friends about your love life or lack thereof I would just like to remind you of a practical verse found in Romans 12:15. It goes like this; Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep I'll start by addressing the down-trodden singles among us. I understand that you m...

Today is my day off. So I slept in. Whenever I sleep in I feel a little guilty that I've wasted time but since I'm also getting over a bad cold I figured that justified things. I lay staring at the ceiling for a few minutes before convincing myself that I really did need to get up and get things done. After finding some juice I pulled open my Bible and read the next two chapters in my reading plan, then I put the Bible down and started to pray. My voice was praying out loud "Lord, please forgive me for my sins..." but my mind was thinking; wow, I have a lot of cleaning to do today. My place is a mess! I can't believe I let it get this way. I have to vacuum and dust and there's a pile of dishes to do... And right then and there it was as if God put a spotlight on my soul which made my mouth and mind stop. He put before my mind the example of Mary and Martha.  The story goes something like this. Jesus goes to visit with Mary and Martha (who are sisters) ...